St. Charles Parish recently got a visit from local food truck Joel’s Lobster Rolls, an Orleans Parish-based outfit offering fare rarely seen in South Louisiana – Connecticut-style buttered lobster rolls.
Joel’s Lobster Rolls is operated by Madison, Conn. native Joel Griffin, who became a New Orleans transplant after moving to the area for college, deciding later to stay.
New Orleans is home to many great seafood restaurants, but one seafood item unique to the New England area Griffin said he was unable to find anywhere in South Louisiana was his childhood favorite – lobster rolls.
“Right when I turned 16, it was time for me to get a job, so I got a job at my local clam shack – they’re super popular [in Connecticut] – where they sell these seafood lobster rolls,” Griffin explained of his first job in the food industry, one he would hold throughout high school. “But when I moved down here for school, [lobster rolls were] something I couldn’t find anywhere.”
After finishing college in New Orleans, and still finding no signs of lobster rolls being served locally – Griffin sensed an opportunity to bring a taste of Connecticut to the New Orleans area. He decided to create a business focused primarily on lobster rolls, which he has now operated for the last two years.
Lobster rolls are sandwiches typically served with steamed or fried lobster in its center. Griffin commented there are two main variations to lobster rolls in New England, where the sandwich originates from.
The version many that visit New England are most familiar with is the ‘Maine style’ lobster roll which usually features a mayonnaise, chives and lobster mixture, served cold.
Griffin’s version is different, known as the ‘Connecticut style’ lobster roll, which is instead served warm with warm butter in the middle of a sandwich bun; no mayonnaise is used. Lobster included in Griffin’s rolls features only lobster claw and knuckle meat.
The food truck owner said he has his lobster meat flown in fresh from Maine, lobster that is “never frozen,” Griffin commented. “I think it’s much tastier [than the Maine version].”
Griffin serves his lobster rolls on a brioche type roll, which is cut New England style.
“This one has a brioche buttery spin to it that makes it super crispy when you toast it – really flavorful – that just brings the flavor up a lot,” Griffin said of the bread he uses.
While not common in Connecticut, Griffin noticed how many Louisianians enjoyed their seafood served with sauces, so he began to offer a lobster bisque sauce as an add-on option. The sauced version now slightly outsells his original lobster roll version, he said. Griffin also sells clam chowder, made fresh everyday – another New England staple not commonly found in the New Orleans area.
Joel’s Lobster Rolls is a roving food truck operation that normally operates Thursday thru Sunday on a weekly schedule throughout the metro Orleans area, setting up in a new spot each weekday.
While most of his locations tend to be in Orleans Parish where he is based out of, Griffin said he plans on visiting St. Charles Parish every one to two months and hopes to begin making more frequent trips to the area as his business gets better known locally.
To learn more about Joel’s Lobster Rolls or to find out dates when Griffin and his food truck will visit St. Charles Parish again, visit his website, www.joelslobsterrolls.com, where he posts his upcoming location schedule one week in advance each week.
Be the first to comment